Mary Belle and James

James and Mary Belle were married this last weekend on a particularly stormy day. Despite the rain and snow, it was a beautiful occasion.

The couple's colors were a sophisticated mix of champagne, gold, and a touch of light pink.

We did a lovely dropped ceiling that really softened the room. We accented by doing tall, spring arrangements around the room which contributed to the feeling of an art museum with the spotlights.





We also put up the contemporary swag backdrop with a champagne drape and gold cross drape. The champagne fabric was simply exquisite, and fell perfectly to the floor.



The bride and groom created the centerpeices. They were simple, yet reflected the classic beauty in the room. Using small fishbowls lined on the bottom with clear glass beads, they were topped off with one gerbera daisy and an adorable photo of the cute couple.



The final touch in the room was the gorgeous cake, decorated with cherry blossoms reflecting the bride's Japanese heritage. The bride and groom cut the cake early in the evening and served it the rest of the night. It was the only cake I have ever seen that was gone by the end of the reception.




For the rest of the refreshments, we brought in one of our gorgeous chocolate fountains and served it with cream puffs, green apples, bananas, pretzels, and gummy bears. Of course it was a hit with the guests!

It was a fabulous day for a wonderful couple and it was a joy to be able to work with them on their special day. Congrats!

Ladies Spa Night

I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful weather we have been having (not the snow, but the sun). Today is a simply gorgeous day. It's a shame I don't have an outdoor wedding today to take advantage of the blue skies and warm sun.

Recently I was able to help decorate a small event for the ladies in my community. We were getting together for a Spa Night and we wanted to bring in a few decorations to make it feel more relaxing and spa-ish.

This was a low key event, but I thought I would share a couple pictures with you. I particularly enjoyed the tall centerpeices with the blue water beads and lights. The purple flowers reminded me a tad of cherry blossoms (but with more color).

Preview of Mysha's Wedding

Mysha's wedding is not until May 14, but our planning stages are well under way.

Here are some pictures from the mock-up that I created the other night. Our main themes are peacock colors and crystals.


The table centerpieces, half the tables will have the calla lilies, half the black lanterns:





These arrangements will be used as wall panel arrangements around the room, lit up with spotlights:



The complete table-scape:



I'm already getting excited to see how the whole wedding comes together!

A Quick Look Back

Sweet Debbie posted this pic on her Facebook page, and I hope she won't mind that I borrowed it. I liked the composition, the pretty ceiling, and the lovely faces of the bride and groom. :)

Oh, the Exquisiteness of Chocolate!

Before I opened Elegantly Expressed and fell into the wedding planning and event design, I had dreams of being a caterer and owning a small restaurant. I even went so far as to cater special events for people I knew. My big break was catering the CD release party of this awesome singer I am lucky to know, Deb. (Go to her website and check out her awesome music!)

Anyway, soon after I started Elegantly Expressed, I was given the opportunity to invest in these magnificent chocolate fountains. I have two of them and they stand 23" tall. They are not quite the huge things you see at Hollywood parties, but they are cost affordable (as they use less chocolate) and perfect for the weddings that I do. I was surprised at how my inner caterer was brought out each time I used the fountains.



Many of you may be familiar with our luxurious chocolate fountains and the elegant but fun accents they add to events. While regular chocolate will always maintain its status as most popular, we have found surprising success with our crazy nacho cheese as well (I know, random, right? But people LOVE it!) However, if you know me at all, you know I am never satisfied with the same old stuff, so I have been scouring for new ideas and products to indulge in. Luckily I found some awesome solutions and I can't wait to try them out.



First up, the White Chocolate. I know it's not new, but no one has ever requested it before. However, our first white chocolate fountain is already scheduled to debut on May 14 at Mysha's exquisite wedding (seriously, this will be THE wedding of the year!).




Next, the Caramel. Over the past few years I have been researching how to do a caramel fountain, and I have finally found my answer! Someone please request this, as I am dying to try it!!



Finally, the Peanut Butter. In my dreams I never thought this was possible, but someone has created the perfect product to do it. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to have a chocolate fountain next to a peanut butter fountain?! Bring out the cookies, I am ready!

Wesley and Trevor

Wesley and Trevor were another referral from Melissa at Tickled Pink Floral. We love working together so we really encourage our clients to use each other's services. (Plus, Melissa does such a great job!)

Wesley and Trevor are a really sweet couple who came to me already knowing exactly what they wanted (which doesn't happen too often). They planned a gorgeous reception at the Springville Art Museum with red and black as the wedding colors.

The art museum doesn't need much in the way of decor, but we brought in the Wrought Iron Arch, which looked perfect in the room! We also placed satin red table runners on the lovely tables in the atrium. The centerpieces were comprised of our lovely black lanterns with white lights inside, a picture of the bride and groom, and sprinklings of red and white rose petals.

It was such a simple, but gorgeous reception!

The Arch:




The Tables:

Erika and Ben

Erika and Ben were such a fun couple to work with and I had a blast during our initial consultation. A family member had seen Donna and David's wedding back in November, and recommended me since Erika and Ben were having their reception in the same building. By pure accident, this was the 4th wedding we have done in this particular church building, so I have quite a bit of experience there.

Erika's colors were navy/royal blue and light pink. You will recognize much of the decor as things we have previously done, but it still looks nice. You will see the Jen backdrop, the Swag cake backdrop, and LED's in the centerpieces.

The ceiling was a bit different in that we did a double-dip tent style. There is the central high point, and then closer towards the walls there is another high point. The end result was quite pleasing to the eye as it had a bit more sophistication and shape.

The Room:




The Bride and her Bridesmaids in front of the backdrop:


Erika's Grandmother made this gorgeous cake so we put it in front of the backdrop and spotlit it to make it the centerpiece of the room:


The Tables:


The Centerpieces: